Fallen Petals
by Jaime Snyder
Summary: She knew what she had to do---why she had come to Raya in the first place. It was her fate. ‘I have to slay the dragon.’ AU fanfic starring Rune Falle, Raven's daughter and my OC from TSOAG.


"Welcome to Raya City!"

Rune looked up bitterly at the faded letters on the metal sign. She sighed and shook her head, stuffing her gloved hands in the pockets of her black coat to keep warm. The happy yellow sun on the sign only served to annoy her—after all, there was no sun in the sky at that moment. Usually, Rune Falle liked the night better; but not in the dead of winter.

Regardless of her shaking limbs, the seventeen-year-old trudged on through the messy blanket of snow on the sidewalk. The white puffs that still fell from the sky caught in her blue hair, though she couldn't feel them anymore. She sighed again and watched as her breath rose in a swirling cloud towards the starless sky. Even after it was gone, she continued gazing up at the blackness above, not watching where she was going.

_'But there's no reason to watch where you're going when you don't care where you go,'_ she thought, flicking out her tongue to catch one of the cotton balls of snow.

Ah, but what if you don't like where you end up? How will you know the way back?

_'I won't go back,'_ Rune told the Voice. _'I'll press on until I find something better.'_

The Voice may or may not have been a person—Rune didn't really know. But she could hear it, whether in her head or somewhere close by, and it acted as her companion of sorts on the unending road before her. Rune looked down at aforementioned road and realized she had reached the city's downtown area. There were a few passersby, most walking in groups of three or more. However, there were a few stragglers here and there who remained alone, sticking to the shadows of the night as they planned their crimes.

And Rune could sense them, all but one who watched her from the darkness. His silver eyes tracked her every movement intently, unblinking as he followed her down the street. _This_ was who he needed. He was sure of it.

_'Yes, she is most definitely related to that _witch_ Arella… Do not fret, young sorceress. I won't take too much…'_

And with a sinister smirk, he vanished in the blink of an eye, leaving nothing behind but his latest victim.

Rune sneezed as she sat down at a bench outside Matthias Park, her nose and cheeks red from the cold. She fetched a tissue from her pocket and muttered to herself, her tired cerulean eyes drooping closed as she leaned back against the cold wood.

"—the police! Someone, please—!"

"—an old lady, yeah, right over by—!"

"—so m-much blood! Who could do such a—?"

Rune opened her eyes to see people crowded around an alley not too far from her nice little bench. She raised an eyebrow and absorbed what information she could from their noisy panic.

"People, step back! Let us through—police, get outta the way!"

"God Almighty, what _happened_ to her?"

"She's dead, alright."

Rune sighed. _'I could just walk away right now…'_ But her curiosity got the better of her. She stood and calmly made her way to the alley where a small congregation of police, EMT's, and civilians had gathered to see the crime scene. She was so calm, in fact, that no one noticed her even as she approached the corpse of the poor woman lying on the pavement. Her blood melted the snow in a bright red trail, both dark and fascinating at the same time.

_'I didn't know dragons hung around big cities,'_ Rune thought, her eyes showing all her empathy for the dead woman. Her brown eyes were wide open, arms stiff above her head as though she'd been restrained. Her body had been burned in several places, the blackened flesh now covered with numbing snow. There was a gaping hole torn through her chest where her heart used to be. Rune could still feel the fear radiating off of the lady, however dulled it may have been.

Cities are perfect places for any vicious creature to hunt. The Voice said. But they usually do a good job of keeping the evidence swept under the rug.

Rune sighed for the third time that night and stood, leaving the scene just as inconspicuously as she'd arrived. She was aggravated. Dragons were bad news for everyone, especially the older ones because they were smarter about hiding themselves. This dragon had to be very old (maybe by several thousand years) for Rune had not sensed him in the area at all. It was hard to hide yourself from an empath.

_'Well, isn't this just great,'_ she thought, walking past the bench she'd rested on before. She knew what she had to do—why she had come to Raya in the first place. It was her fate.

_'I have to slay the dragon.'_

It was two hours later, somewhere around midnight, when Rune finally found a clue. There was a burst of negative energy a few blocks from her position outside the city's post office; a woman screamed. Rune ran.

It's a trap! It's a trap! It's a trap!

_'I'm well aware of that, thanks,' _Rune thought bitterly. She rounded a corner and kept running. _'But if it's leading me to it, then why not follow? It'll make my job of _finding_ and _killing_ it a whole lot easier.'_

Rune turned onto an empty street, devoid of even a streetlight for her to see by. Something was wrong. Was it getting colder? She ventured slowly forth, keeping all her senses on high alert as she waited. She eventually came to a stop when she stepped in something that didn't feel like snow. Rune didn't want to know which organ the dragon had stolen this time…

"I knew you'd come looking," a silky voice said from her left. She turned quickly, her body automatically going into a defensive pose. She was shivering, but not from the unusual cold surrounding her. _Suffocating her…_

"I know," the dragon said, brushing a lock of his long white hair from his humanoid face. "My aura, right? When I don't conceal it, all this evil can be a bit much for such a strong _empath_ as yourself… Tell me, little sorceress, what is your name?"

Rune took a deep breath, trying to steady her racing heart. This man –no, this _dragon_ was dangerous. Lethal. "I may have the blood of sorcerers in me," she said quietly, "but that doesn't mean it can help you. I haven't been trained. And," she added, a little louder this time, "it's common courtesy to give your name before asking for one, dragon."

He laughed airily, walking closer to the much younger girl. "Where are my manners?" he said. "I am Malchior. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms…?"

"Falle. Rune Falle."

"As yes, I _thought_ you might say that," he commented under his breath. "And, as for your training, the fact that you have the blood of your grandmother is enough. How is Arella Falle these days? Dead, I hope."

Rune smirked. "Sorry to disappoint you, _Malchior_, but she's alive and well."

"I can always fix that later. You've apparently had _some_ form of training, if you can recognize me by my M.O. alone."

"It doesn't take a true sorceress to recognize a dragon attack when she sees one."

"Ah, true enough," he replied conversationally. "But does it take one to _defeat_ a two-thousand-year-old dragon, I wonder?" He smirked at her, the sinister tone of his voice apparent to the teenager.

Rune blinked, uncomfortable in her situation. Why did it have to be _her_ to find him? Why did _she_ have to defeat him? Judging by his age, he must be a powerful creature. However, Rune knew he was weakened greatly due to a curse. She smirked right back at him.

"And how do you plan to attack, I wonder? Will you show me your true form?" She taunted him only slightly. He noticed.

Glaring, he said, "I think you know why I cannot do that, Rune. Yet," he added proudly. "I have all the ingredients I need to complete the spell that will rid me of your wretched grandmother and her foul curse. All of them, save for one."

With that, he lunged for the blue-haired girl, the nails on his hands growing longer and sharper as he aimed for her throat. She ducked and rolled between his legs, stood up and ran down the snowy street in panic. What could she do? How could she beat him? She thought about the curse—she could tell her grandmother had cast a spell on him by the color of his eyes, silver instead of the red or yellow free dragons possessed. He was trapped in his humanoid form, unable to transform into the fearsome creature she knew he could be. And if he got hold of her blood, he _would _be.

She ran into an alley and stopped to catch her breath. She had a plan, but it would take a miracle to work. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and began muttering ancient spells in a forgotten language; her hands were together as though in prayer. Rune's voice steadily grew in intensity, the words more distinct as she slowly pulled her hands apart to reveal a white ball of light.

"Aldruon enlenthra nalthos solen narisnoir!"

Her eyes opened just as Malchior ran into her hiding place, his clawed hand at his side covered in glowing black energy while a sinister smirk graced his lips. Just as he was about to tear out her throat, she thrust her palms towards his chest, sending the ball of light into the surprised dragon. There was a moment of silence and absolute stillness; Rune's eyes were glowing white as the sun from the intensity of the attack. She watched Malchior's human form flicker briefly like a hologram, his skin becoming black and purple scales with his spiked tail swishing threateningly behind him. But in the next second, a gale summoned by Rune's spell sent the creature flying backwards at an alarming rate, the force of the winds terribly harsh and loud in the stillness of the night.

He had time only to mutter a spell of his own before his back hit the concrete of a building several yards away with a sickening crack. He slumped to the ground, his breathing labored as he tried to stand.

"How dirty," he remarked, his voice rougher. "Using such a spell… You're sadistic."

"How is that?" she asked casually, rummaging through her coat pocket for the present her grandmother had given her a few weeks ago.

"That spell is used…to kill… But not to kill dragons." He glared at her accusingly. "It is extremely painful having electricity shoot through your veins."

"You know, in all honesty, I was hoping you'd just die," she said, having found the item she wanted. She unwrapped the silver dagger from the silk, admiring its beauty as it glinted in the moonlight. Malchior tensed before her, his eyes widening.

"Where did you get that…?"

Rune didn't answer. Instead, she faced her violent foe with the weapon held firmly in both hands, speaking her spells clearly. With every word, the dragon's eyes grew darker; he was getting very angry with this mortal. All he needed was a vial full of her blood; he'd never intended to kill her. But given the situation, he changed his mind. She was going to die, and he was going to relish every second of it.

Malchior stood and placed his hands before him with his palms facing outwards, fingertips touching; the space between his hands was shaped like a spade. He fired his attack at the same time Rune did hers.

A bolt of black energy shot out from the space between Malchior's hands, while a ray of white energy from Rune's dagger crashed into it. There was a massive amount of light coming from the spells as they pushed against each other, fighting for dominance. The place where the two energies met was light blue, random sparks of blue shooting out from it as the spells pressed against one another. Malchior concentrated hard, muttering another spell while Rune struggled to stand her ground. The snow around them was melting from the heat of their magic, making the ground slippery and wet. Abruptly, the blue-haired girl was hit in the side by an invisible attack. She was thrown to the right and dropped her dagger as she hit the snow, her abdomen bruised and throbbing.

"You weren't lying when you said you'd not had any training," Malchior taunted. "Sorcery rule number one: always be on your guard."

"I'll…keep that in m-mind," Rune panted, clutching her side as the tall man neared her. He stopped to stare longingly at her fallen knife, but did not touch it for fear of being burned. He didn't need such a weapon to dispose of the nuisance before him, anyway.

"So, how would you like to die, little one?" he asked kindly, a sickly sweet smile plastered on his angular face.

"Old age would be nice," Rune replied. Malchior laughed.

"And that would have been possible," he whispered cruelly, kneeling down to her level. She tried to back away, but he restrained her by holding her arm in his viselike grip. "But you had to try and 'save the day' like the little _fool_ that you are. You have delayed me long enough, mortal."

He extended one finger to press against the exposed flesh of her arm. She tried lashing out at him, but found that she was paralyzed the moment she looked into those malicious silver eyes. His claw cut a smooth trail from her elbow to her wrist; never once did his gaze waver. A generous quantity of blood ran down her arm now, some stray drops falling to stain the crystalline snow dark red. Malchior produced a small glass vial from his coat pocket and held it to the river flowing on her skin, collecting his bounty until the container was filled to the brim. He sealed it carefully and smirked down at the girl he'd wounded. Now he could have his fun…

Rune, meanwhile, was struggling desperately to break out of his illusionary technique. She had to look away, blink, something! He was coming closer now, probably to dissect her in the most gruesome way possible… She shivered, her mind reeling with the possibilities.

_'Calm down,'_ she told herself. _'Think. Concentrate. Use what you know. Breathe. Azarath…metrion…zinthos!'_

There was a burst of white light as Rune blinded her opponent. He scrambled away to cover his eyes, giving our heroine the perfect opportunity to make an escape—but not before swiping the vial he'd dropped. She stuffed the glass container into her pocket and ran down the street in a flash, her mind racing as she ran through every type of spell she could think of that might help destroy the wretched dragon. Unfortunately, Malchior was not one to be taken lightly. He quickly stood, his lips barely moving as he mumbled the foreign words to another spell.

His fluid movements seemed more of a dance than a conjuring spell. His palms faced the ground, fingers spread with his left hand inches below his right. He moved his hands counterclockwise in a small circular motion, his half-lidded eyes never once leaving Rune's retreating figure. The snow before him began swirling in the same motion as his hands, the powdery substance gaining speed with every turn as it rose above the ground. He had made a tornado of snow. As he finished the incantation, Malchior clenched his hands into fists; consequently, the small flakes of snow in the tornado froze into solid ice.

"Let us see if you can escape this one, girl," he said to himself before he sent the twister after her.

Rune, meanwhile, had no luck remembering any spells to defeat vengeful dragons. She ran farther down the street, hoping to find something that would help her or spark an idea. She turned a corner and ran into the city's central park. She spotted a large fountain up ahead and ran to hide behind it, grateful for the chance to catch her breath and heal her arm. She closed her eyes, trying to steady her heartbeat with a familiar mantra.

Suddenly, Malchior's words ran through her head.

_"Always be on your guard."_

"Crap!" She yelled, eyes shooting open to see the destructive force before her. The tornado swirled gracefully and –oddly enough– _silently_ as it approached its target. Each snowflake it sucked in as it passed was quickly turned to sharp ice in the storm. Rune's eyes widened as she put up a basic protective barrier around herself, hoping to buy enough time to try a counterattack.

The icy twister would not be defeated by her beginner's spell. It grew in diameter and engulfed the dome of white light, slowly constricting her desperate attempt for safety. The light from Rune's magic shone through the ice crystals of the dragon's attack, casting thousands of miniature glowing rainbows throughout the vacant park and brightening the moonless night. Malchior allowed himself a brief moment to enjoy the stunning view before turning his attention back to the battlefield.

"Farewell, Ms. Falle."

With those final words, Malchior's tornado closed up entirely and exploded in a burst of negative black energy laced with ice and rainbows. Only when the pieces were no longer manipulated by the dragon's spell did they make a sound, like breaking glass, as the ice hit the cement of the sidewalk and fountain. Malchior walked up to the spot where Rune had been moments before, ready to collect her body to use for his rebirth.

_'What a pity,'_ he thought. _'She would have made a beautiful mate. Aside from the whole trying to kill me ordeal…'_

He noticed two things almost immediately: One, that Rune's body was not lying cold and lifeless on the ground as it should have been. And two, that there was a pure presence standing 23 feet behind him, poised and ready to strike. He turned in time to see Rune, soaked and shivering, glaring at him with vibrant blue eyes as she sent him flying thousands of feet in the air. He was greatly surprised, not having expected this from the young girl. She had him bound tightly with her glowing energy, the light white enough to rival the Sun itself. Though unlike the large star, her power was cold as snow—it sent a chill up the dragon's spine.

As he reached the clouds, his ascent slowed exponentially until he was stuck in limbo between rising and falling. He was among the clouds again, a place he'd longed to be for the past eighty years since Arella Falle cursed him. And for that moment, he smiled a genuinely happy smile.

About sixteen thousand feet below, Rune was shivering from the intense cold freezing the water on her skin. She had been trying to summon her dagger, but ended up summoning the water from the fountain instead… On her second try, however, she managed to call her weapon forth. It was now held in her gloved hands, pointing at the creature floating in the heavens. She took a deep breath and began speaking once more in a long-dead language, giving her dagger a command and aiding it with magic. The weapon vibrated and soared out of her hands as she continued with the spell, a single tear rolling down her face. She put her hands together as though in prayer and closed her eyes.

"May your next life show you kindness," she whispered. Somehow, she knew Malchior could hear her.

The dagger flew higher and higher until it too was amongst the clouds. As was its nature, the weapon pierced the flesh of Malchior's back. It pushed all the way through his chest, ripping through his blackened heart as it emerged out the other side of his body. The blood dripping from the metal fell onto the dragon, hot as the fires he could only release in his true form. He sighed as the spell finished and his body finally fell from the atmosphere, the wind rushing past to whistle in his ears. He was still smiling as he muttered one final incantation, the sadness he felt strong enough for Rune to sense on the ground. Without warning, his body lit aflame, the fire slowly engulfing him as he approached the earth.

"Maybe it will," he mused as he turned to ashes in the sky.

Rune was on her knees when her knife returned to her side, watching as the ashes of the defeated dragon rained down on her in silence. She sighed and closed her eyes as a cool breeze swept amongst the remains of the creature. She was confused, however, when an ash landed on her hand.

_'It's so soft…'_

She opened her eyes again and saw the ashes slowly fading into nothingness, only to be replaced with small white flower petals as they surrounded her. Her brow furrowed as she tried to understand what final magic Malchior had preformed, but could not come up with an answer. She sighed and stood up, grabbing her dagger in the process. She wrapped it once more in the fine silk she'd received it in before stowing it in her coat pocket. With tearful eyes and a heavy heart, she walked through the storm of roses and faded into the night.

The End.

**Okay! So, I'm in a program called Upward Bound, where kids go to get ready for college. I have classes, I live in a dorm, and it's okay…but tiring. And they keep us on a schedule all day. So I have a Lit class, and the teacher wanted us to write a fantasy short story. I chose to do one about Rune so I could entertain my faithful readers while they waited for me to post the next chapter of TSOAG. And I promise, it IS coming! But I hope this will suffice till then.**

**--Jaime**


End file.
